Means for gumming tape on blanks



April 18, 1933. R. 1 MEADER 1,904,874

MEANS FOR GUMMING TAPE ON BLANKS Filed Feb. 6, 1952 Y ZSheetS-Sheet 2 Patented Apr. 18, '1933 i 1,904,874. e. f 'A PATENT oFFlc BALPIMEADERF LYNBnooK, NEW Ymr j non surname TAPE 0N BLANKs Application i1ei1 1 february 6, 1932. '-Serial No. 591,333.

This invention relates to'. devices forjigiun` ming or pasting tape on ab-aclring sheet, such' as the tape coming from atapeprinter which.

f y requires to be `gummed to a telegraph blank. 15 Devices for this purpose, which are sometimes designated applicators, comprise a. reservoir for liquid which lcommonly serves asthe handle by which the operator grasps the 'instruwhich Athe tape is guided, theV liquid being carried through a duct 'to' this nozzle and gummed tape the liquid is usually water; lor

of gum, kglue orpaste.` Such devices-have means for opening thetape vpassaggge inthe nozzle to permit of introducinga new'length l of tape, and are commonly provided with .a cutter for severing a length of tape. `An' illustration of 'such `an applicator is contained in Ilny Ptent No."1.,834,632, granted December ,193 1 u In the use ofsuch devices the tape coming from the printer is introduced through fthe tape passage'in the nozzle, Vand the-operator starts the `end of `the tape, ,pressing it Ion the blank, and then moves thedevicehorizontally v u over the blank, wherebythe tapeis drawn '3Q through ,the nozzle, moistened .and pressed upon theblanl; atv'the end ofthe lineit ishj severed, and the operator moves it backand y starts a second line which is laid down as near-V A ly parallel with the first as thefoperators Vskillwill permit; this operation being repeated` for as many lines las are applied totheblan'k.

rlhe gumming down of `tape to avb-lank injthis manner requires considerable skill and 4&0, care .on the partof the operator order that lines which succeed feach other with regular spacings. VAny wanty ofparallelism ofthe y spacing; producesY1 i G down upona bench `er othersupport E.V .A

i TheapplicatorD isshown as of the typeg@ lines or irregularity of thev A an unsightly message. The object of .this invention :is to provide ment, and a nozzle portionA through or f overor an ungunimed tapeit may be a solution' the tape may be applied in parallel, horizontal means whereby in applyingthe tape it may be guided in parallel lines equally spaced vso asto produce neat workwith less care and skill on the part of the operator than has here- Y v tofore been necessary,jand at thevsame time'to increase thefspeed with which the messages from a tape printer may be gummed to the blanks. To thisend my invention provides atape' applying device with-a guiding means which enga-ges or carrie-s the. applicator and guides it in itshorizontal movements so .as to lay downfthe gummed tape upon 4the blank in parallel lnes,with means for determining the spacing between the lines, whereby to as. sist the operator in securing parallelism and equal spacing, andat the same time to Ain'-y crease the operatorsspeed.` Y i i The preferred embodiment of the inven- Y tion is shown in the accompanying drawings, whereinf' Figli-rel is a Fig.' 2 is aside .elevation thereof vertical7 transverse section. i-

\ Fig. .3 is afragmentary, vertica section on a larger scale.

Fig. 4 is av transverse section on the line 4-4 in 8, taken inthe direction of the' arrow. y Fig. 5 is anenlarged fragmentary section of vone ofthe pivots for the longitudinal Y' guideway.

fF'g. 6i' sponding generally to Fi modified construction. y e Y Fig. 7 isa plan showing another modified"V construction.V

plan ofthe apparatus.

l, transverse sa sectional side elevation corre-fV g. 2 and showing a ELI , partlyinv y Y Relerringito the drawings, `A is a tablel .or-1

already described having a reservoir a for liquid and a nozzle 7J with a communicating passage or duct through which the liquid is conveyed down into the nozzle, and with a transverse passage for carrying the tape c over the nozzle in communication with an Vopening cl in the nozzle through which the applicator.

being pivoted thereto at g, pressed down byv a spring 7L and having a thumb-piece z' by which it may be thrown up to introduce a new tape.

Suitably anchored to the table A or other support is a longitudinal guide F and movable longitudinally in or on this guide is a slide Gr which carries a transverse guid-e H. In the latter is movable a sliding frame I,'which constitutes the carrier for the applicator D.

The carrier I being suitably located in anyy given position with relation to the transv-erse guide H, the applicator may be freelyv moved-tcright or left, the slide G sliding in the guide F with the lateral movements of the These lateral movements are herein referred to as longitudinal movements because they are thus made in laying down thel longitudinal lines of tape. ThusVthe operator having' started the tape at the left,

Y applies it to the blank in a horizontal line,

and at theend of this line the ta e is cut or broken olf and the applicator is moved back to the left to starta new line, and at the same time is given a new positionor location by a movement of the frame I in the transverse rguide H and by the operation of a suitable locating device, coacting between these parts, and a second line of tape may be laidl down parallel with the first; and so on until the entire message is gummed down to the blank.

For conveniently communicating these movements to the applicator, itis provided with a front handle J and to guide it during its movements while being pressed down against the blank it is desirably provided with a roller The illustrated arrangement of the applicator has its reservoir a projecting to therear where it is out of the way, and its weight V`serves as a counterbalance; but any other. arrangement of the reservoir may 'be adopted and the cylindrical form of reservoir is not essential. To enable the nozzle end ofthe applicator to be readily lifted, the whole guiding structure is pivoted on a longi-V tudinal axis by hinges c at opposite ends vof the guide F, by which the guide F is pivframe'and move the oted to uprights Z Z which are rigidly attached to the table A.

The means for locating the applicator relative to the transverse guide H for each of the succeeding lines is preferably of such construction as to permit the operator to readily shift from line to line, and to shift with a greater or lesser line spacing as may be desired, this being-preferable to any connection in the nature of a positive lock. The preferable construction consists of a rack K carried by a slide I and a roller L carried on a spring L mounted on a transverse guide H, as by being attached to across-piece m thereon. The spring presses the roller down between two teeth of the rack, as'shown in Fig. 3and a slightly perceptibleforceis required to displaceit and shift the applicator transversely from one line to the next; while the spring stress is suficient to hold the part-s in place during the longitudinal movement so as to insure that the'tape shallbe applied in the true line, and that each line of tape shall be parallel with the Vothers.

In: the construction shown frame I is arranged over andeparallel with the reservoir a and has a back arm n terminating in a socketk p for receiving the outer end of the reservoir while the opposite end thereof'is engaged in aframe M whichfis fastened to the lower 'or front end of the the carrier frame I, and its two arms are drawn together by a screw N to embrace and. clamp the lower and front end of the reservoir or body of the applicator, which has a pin whichenters within a slot r to `locate the applicator and keep itfrombec'oming displaced;

The guideF is shown as of channel form andbetween it and the slide G are anti-friction balls sV s engaged by a spacer t to hold them at` proper distances apart. Y. This construction renders the movements of the slide G practically frictionless. Stops u and 'v may be provided for limiting the opposite movements' of theV slide corresponding to the ends` of the lines ofapplied tape. Any suitable guiding connection may be made between the guide H andslide I.

In Fig. 2 the handle J is shown displaced at 12in dotted lines, which is one of the Vpositions in laying 'on tape toward ythe lowerv part of the sheet or blank. In position 13 the handle is shown lifted inv order to tilt the applicator to the left to start a new line. i u

It will be understood that this invention may be greatly modified without departing from itsV essential features. Various constructions of Vlongitudinal and transverse guides ymay begadopted for imparting the requisite guiding control to the movements of the applicator. The construction illustrated is believed -to be the best for the purpose, being light, strong and free moving, and af fords a convenient'arrangement for the operwenn ator. It has been demonstrated as so facilitating the operation as t-o enable high speed of application-to be attained.

VThe applicator is not shown as having any knife or cutter for severing the tape, but such a cutter may be provided in any ofthe known ways if desired. There is illustrated in Fig. 1 a thimble Q for a finger of the operators left hand and which carries a knife w'against which the tape may be cut by holding this knife down upon it while the handle J is lifted.

It is desirable to make the pivotal connection between the uprights Z and the guideway F so as to provide a moderate frictional resistance against turning on this pivot, although not sufficient to interfere with the free lifting and lowering of the handle J by the operator. Fig. 5 shows a construction of frictional pivot adapted for this purpose. Between the pivotal ear on the upright Z and the coinciding ear on the downturned portion 14 at the end of the guideway F is intel-` posed a frictional washer 15 preferably of rubber, and the pivot pin 16 is made as an adjusting screw which may be turned by a knurled head 17 to more or less compress a spring 18 t'o press the members together and thereby vary the frictional resistance dueto the interposed rubber washer. By this means any looseness or lost motion may be taken up and the rocking movement of the guide F and the parts which it carries may be retarded to any desired extent.

Fig. 6 shows a modified construction of applicator which departs from the conventional cylindrical reservoir a and substitutes a spherical bottle 20 which is screwed or otherwise united to the nozzle b, which latter is fastened to the front end of the slideI. In this instance the guideway F and guide H are located to the rear of the applicator. To facilitate the removall and inversion of the nozzle for connectingit to a. filled reservoir, it is shown as fastened to the front of the guide frame I by means of a knurled thumb-screw 21. Otherwise the applicator may be of the same construction shown in Figs. 1 to 4.v

The present invention is applicable to the,

type of applicator having a cylindrical reservoir or handle portion which extends from the nozzle toward the right, so `that the tape is conducted over the top of this reservoir to the nozzle. 7 The reservoir a is clamped tothe front end of the guiding frame I by means of aV clamping frame M fastened thereto and contracted around the reservoir by a tightening screw 22. The handle J is conveniently attached to the middle of the connecting clamp M. struction wherein the tape passes through a longitudinal groove in the-upper part of the nozzlepassing in contact with a wick which Vextends up into the reservoir. Y

This application is shown in Fig.

The nozzle is of a well known con- #The `modificati'ons shown nfFigsIBand?? are illustrated as examples of the variations w-hich may 'be `made within fthe. scope .of the y i' present invention.l f f v -WhatI c'l'aimis:` Y

longitudinal guiding means' for f directing .i ts movements 'in parallel, longitudinal lines.

72. Aftape applier,'fcombinedwith l'onigitu-fmi .j

dinal vand vtransverse guides'V for directing 'its movements in longitudinal lines-and controlling its 'transverse movements for spacingbe.-l tweenthe lines.V i j Y Y v 8. A tape applier, combined' with longitu-` dinal-and 4transverse guides, the one fixed in positionand the Vother movable thereon andlconnected with "the tape applier. v

4. A tape applier, combined with guiding means comprising a longitudinally moving guide, andspacing means for indicating the line spacing between vsuccessive longitudinal resisting displacement thereof between lat:

eral line positions.

6. A tape applier, combinedA with guiding 1. A tape applier combined `with horizontal A anv means for directing its movements in parallel', i

longitudinal lines, including an impo'sitiveV engagement for locating the successive parallel lines.y v Y 7., The combination of. claim 16, 'such imaoo positivedevice consisting of a series ofrack Y teeth on one partV and a spring-pressed roller on the reciprocal part.v Y

8. -AV tape applier combined withguides' for directing its movement in longitudinal, parallellines, having a pivotal engagement per-l mltting of a line. i Y Y 9. tape applier combined with guides for directing its movement in longitudinal,

parallel lines, sai-d guiding means pivoted on lifting um y Y a longitudinal axis to permit of applier at the end of a line.

10.7A'tape applier combined with guides for directing its movement in longitudinal, parallel lines, kthe applier pivoted to permit of liftingl it, `and counterbalanced to assist such lifting movement.

11. A tape appliercomprising a reservoir and nozzle, combined with guides for directingV its movements in longitudinal, parallel lines, and having a pivotal engagement on a longitudinal axis to the rear ofthe nozzle,

permitting of. lifting its nozzle, the reservoir prolonged to the rear of such axis tofcounterbalance the applier and assist; such lifting .y movement.V

, 12.A tape applier according to claim 8, with :frictional 4retarding meansV at the `pivliftingthe applier `at the end of Y y .Y

@no f` otal engagement for Opposing friotional re sistance to the movement.

13. `A tape appliel` according to claim 9, the pivots for the guiding means having means for applying the frictional resistance -to pivotal movement. 14. lA tape applier combined with guides for directing its movement in longitudinal parallel lines Acomprising Va longitudinal 1`0 guideWay, a slide guided thereby and the applier carried on said slide7 said longitudinal guideWay pivoted at its opposite vends, and friotional means for applying resistance to its pivotal movement. L 'l5 VIn Witness whereof, I have hereunto signed my name. Y l

Y RALPH I. MEADER.

GERTFIOATE OF CORRECTION.

Patent No. ,9}4,S74-. April 18, 1933.

RALPH I. MEADER.

It is heeoy csrtiied that erior appears in tile printed specification of the above numbered patent requiring correetien as ollows: Page 3, line 90, claim 5, for "guide" fend "guded; and that the said Letters Patent should be read with this confection therein that the same may conform to the record of the case in the Patent Office.

Signed and sealed this 23rd day o May, A, D. 1.933.

M. J. Moore.

(Seal) Acting Commissioner of Patents. 

